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Elderly to get 1.4bn health boost

THE Irish government has agreed a €1.4 billion package for the elderly, to fund new initiatives planned by the Department of Health and to repay money taken illegally from nursing home patients.

The €11 billion health budget will be boosted by at least a further €1 billion when the government publishes its Book of Estimates this week. The funds will be used to finance a series of measures aimed at improving care for the elderly, which Mary Harney has now identified as her top priority.

The health minister will make it easier for patients to qualify for state-subsidised nursing home care and will provide additional home-care packages, as well as other support services, for older people in their own homes.

The government has set aside another €400m for patients and their families who were illegally charged for nursing home care over a 29-year period. This is a down-payment on a